HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/20/2020 Item 2, Powers
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Will Powers <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:TC Communication re 5/20/20
Tree Committee:
I am submitting my comments in writing due to the nightmare I experienced trying to take part remotely
in last month’s meeting.
My comments re today’s “special meeting” are these:
1. There is no justification for calling a “special meeting” for one application. Just because it’s complex,
the city/CHP combination here does not justify giving this special focus to one item.
Recall that last year, Madonna Plaza made a complex, many-tree-slaughter application and that was
heard at a regular meeting; so should this one have been.
2. It is ridiculous to ask a “non-arborist” citizen to decipher the complexities of a tree contractor’s
“professional” plan for a project like this one.
It is simply too much to ask that I be forced to try to figure out what’s going on here from the
“blueprints” provided me.
3. When I visited the site and saw the few trees that were viewable without the skills of a mountain
goat, I could see that there is no justification for removal of the trees next to the parking lot.
There’s no way that the planned hiking/walking/riding path being proposed here would be affected by
these trees; it appears that the CHP/city are taking advantage of the plan for what is needed (the path)
to remove trees that should not be removed.
In summary, this tree-slaughter request should be tabled: a) until it can be heard at a regularly-
scheduled meeting; and, b) until easily-decipherable drawings can be provided to the non-tree-
professional public so that reasonable recommendations can be provided.
Will Powers, Ph.D
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